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Process Heat, Water Treatment/Desalination, Finance and Incentives

The French energy agency Ademe has been supporting renewable heat production in the industry, the district heating sector and at multi-family buildings since 2009. The budget of the national subsidy scheme, Fonds Chaleur (Heat Fund), will double in amount from around EUR 240 million per year to EUR 420 million in 2017. During 2009 to 2014, solar installations accounted for as little as 6 % of Fonds Chaleur's EUR 1.2 billion (see the attached report). Despite the high subsidy amount, the number of solar thermal applications is declining, as is the French solar market in general. Ademe is trying to counter the negative trend by offering new incentive schemes to address the large solar systems segments.
Source: Ademe

This joint paper from the OECD and IEA (October 2006) looks into the different barriers that exist which prevent solar thermal technologies to deliver its real potential. Next to listing the barriers, the document also looks into means to overcome these, the existing technologies & markets and identifies best practices which can be used by policy makers in both industrialised and developing countries.